The Pineville girls basketball team survived a slow start on Thursday to defeat J. Frank White Academy by double digits. After holding a slim 22-20 lead heading into halftime, the Lady Lions used a strong second half to pull away to a 56-43 victory.

Pineville outscored the Knights by 11 points in the second half in large part because they held J. Frank to eight points in the third quarter.

The win against J. Frank was the second since losing to Cumberland Gap and losing freshman guard Whitney Caldwell — who was one of the team’s top scorers — to a leg injury.

“We’re still trying to find someone to come off the bench and pick us up. The main thing is is getting someone in there who can take care of the basketball,” said Pineville coach Jamie Mills about finding a player to fill in at the guard position. “That’s what we’re looking at, finding another ball-carrier who can come in there and take care of it.”

Pineville had three players finish in double digits against the Knights. Jill Enix and Raigan King paced the team on both sides of the court. Enix finished with a game-high 23 points while pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. She also had four assists and led the team in steals with three.

King also finished with a double-double as the freshman chipped in 13 points to go along with her 10 rebounds. Sarah Combs ended the night with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

On the opposite side of the court, J. Frank was paced by forward Kinsee Lefevers. She led the Knights with 16 points. Abigail Garner tallied 12 points, while Beraya Piercy added 10 points to the final tally.

“I told them we were playing man the whole game. We’ve got to get better at it. We lost our man-to-man assignments. We want to cheat and double team sometimes, and we got burned on it,” said Jamie Mills about his team’s defensive effort. “(J. Frank) shot the ball well. We’ve got to play our assignments.”

Pineville found several open shots in the first quarter but couldn’t get most of them to fall. A 6-0 run that was started by a pair of free throws from Chesney Brock gave the Lady Lions an 8-3 lead with 3:12 remaining in the first.

King ended the opening quarter with a pair of free throws to give Pineville an 11-7 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Lady Lions were able to score 11 points in the second with King and Enix being the only players to score from the field. Lefevers paced J. Frank in the second with seven points to help the Knights narrow the deficit to 22-20 heading into halftime.

After a slow start to the game, Pineville raced out to a 35-22 lead by the midway point of the third. J. Frank cut the lead to single digits temporarily after Piercy hit a pair of free throws and a jumper narrowed the deficit to 35-26.

A basket by Pineville at the end of the quarter increased the lead back to double digits, 38-28, heading into the final period.

Both teams found success in the fourth with Enix and King combining for 14 of Pineville’s 18 fourth-quarter points. Lefevers and Garner both tallied six points apiece for J. Frank while the Lady Lions exited the building with a 13-point victory.

Up Next

Pineville (7-1) battled Sunbright, Tennessee on Friday before taking time off for Christmas. They return to action on Dec. 27 when they host Powell County (5-4) at 5 p.m. in the Chain Rock Classic.

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Pineville 56, J. Frank 43

PINEVILLE (7-1)

Sarah Combs 3 4-5 12, Jill Enix 7 9-11 23, Raigan King 4 5-7 13, Makenzie Fuson 1 0-0 2, Virginia Hall 1 0-0 3, Chesney Brock 0 3-4 3. Totals: 14-21 56.

J. FRANK

Beraya Piercy 4 2-2 10, Presley Cole 1 1-1 3, Kyla Piercy 0 0-0 0, Kinsee Lefevers 6 4-7 16, Abigail Garner 5 2-2 12, Kirsten Keith 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 9-12 43.

Pineville 11 11 16 18 — 56

J. Frank 7 13 8 15 — 43

3-point goals: Pineville 3 (Combs 2, Hall 1), J. Frank 0

Reach Anthony Cloud at 606-302-9090 or on Twitter @AnthonyCloudMDN